In a time where humans are increasingly using up the Earth's natural resources, water conservation is of global concern. Referring to FIG. 1, the mechanism by which a conventional toilet 10 is flushed includes a handle 11, a flapper valve 14, a lever 12 connected to the handle, and a flapper chain 13 coupling the handle to the flapper valve. When the handle 11 is actuated, the lever 12 pulls the flapper chain 13 upward, thereby opening the flapper valve 14. The buoyancy of the flapper valve 14 keeps the flapper valve open for a period of time, as water from the tank empties into the bowl of the toilet. Eventually, the handle 11, lever 12, and the flapper valve 14 return to their original position, and the flapper valve again forms a seal between the tank and the toilet, because the system is weight biased toward the flapper valve and not the handle.
Such a system, however, may waste water, as more water may empty from the tank into the toilet bowl during the time it takes for the flapper valve 14 to settle and once again form a seal between the tank and the toilet bowl than is necessary to clean the toilet bowl. In an attempt to address this concern, there have been various methods and inventions designed to control the amount of water used in conventional toilets. Each method has been of varying complexity but none have succeeded in providing for an easy conversion of most existing flush mechanisms to a system capable of controlling the volume of water used during a flush.
Prior methods have included U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,050 to Goldsworthy, disclosing a rod on a ball valve system that could be applied to a flapper. In particular, Goldsworthy discloses a toilet flushing apparatus including a handle, and a lever coupled to the handle. As the handle is turned, the lever advances or retracts a rigid flapper rod that is coupled to a flapper valve. Goldsworthy, however, does not permit manual lowering of the lift rod. Rather, Goldsworthy employs a timing mechanism to lower the lift rod. This adds complexity and cost to the system.
Other variable flush controls devices include U.S. Pat. No. 2,803,833 to Charest. Charest discloses a toilet flush tank valve assembly comprising an outlet pipe and having an inlet opening and an overflow pipe in fluid communication with the outlet pipe. An inlet fitting is on the overflow pipe. A first valve is for closing the inlet opening and a second valve is for closing the inlet fitting. A handle is coupled to a rigid linkage for moving the first and second valves to open positions. This invention again, however, replaces the typical internal mechanisms of a toilet. As such, the retrofitting thereof into existing toilets may be undesirably expensive and complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,023,960 to Ratanagsu discloses a toilet flapper valve control apparatus including a conventional flapper chain coupled to a handle to open the flapper valve when the handle is actuated. A float block adjacent the flapper valve closes the flapper valve after a given period of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,401,269 to Andersen et al. discloses a flapper valve assembly for regulating the passage of water from a toilet tank. A yoke is pivotally disposed in the tank and supports a flapper valve. A flapper arm has a first segment coupled to the yoke along a pivot axis and a second segment extending away from the pivot axis toward the flapper seal. The flapper arm is configured so that it delays seating of the flapper valve when the water in the tank is above a predetermined level and assists seating of the flapper valve when the water is below a designated level. Again this is a replacement of the conventional system of a handle to actuate a flapper valve via a flapper chain. Thus, the retrofitting thereof into existing toilets may be undesirably expensive and complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,107 to Hare et al. includes a flapper chain coupled to a medial portion of a U shaped rod. One end of the U shaped rod is coupled to the flapper valve so that the chain may open the flapper valve. The other end of the U shaped rod is coupled to a weight, which therefore exerts a downward force on the U shaped rod, closing the flapper valve after it has been opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,184,215 to Birdsall discloses the replacement of the traditional system comprising a handle and a flapper valve actuated by the handle via a flapper chain with a weighted handle and a weight held in position by a rod or chain attached to the flapper valve. The valve is opened in the usual fashion by lifting the flapper valve off of the valve. The weighted handle than keeps the weighted flapper valve open with the handle held in the down position. The flapper valve may be manually closed by lifting the handle, thereby, removing the lift that is keeping the weighted flapper valve open, and thus allowing the weighted flapper valve to close. This system, however, replaces multiple parts of a conventional toilet and, as such, may be undesirably expensive to produce and time consuming to install.
Therefore, additional devices which close the flapper valve of a toilet more quickly to thereby conserve water may be desirable. Moreover, such devices which are simple and cheap to produce, as well as easy to install, may be particularly desirable.